This article is classified "Real"
INTRODUCING THE DINGLE
This is the area of Liverpool where I, Roy McPartland, live and thus
seemed to be a logical place to conduct my research. The Dingle is a
densely packed urban area of roughly one square mile with few work places
apart from commercial premises. Its population is expanding reasonably
quickly, which adds to the problem of its housing shortage. An added
problem is that a high proportion of the population of the area are
unemployed. As this area is not a district of the city, but a community,
it is extremely hard to show on a map. A rough guide to the
parts of the city know as the Dingle would be from Upper Warwick Street
to Aigburth Road, and from Grafton Street to Princes Road.
This text has been taken from my part of a group assignment the aim
of which was to define what constitutes leisure, and highlight the
leisure facilities in three areas of Liverpool. I decided to set about
finding as much information as I could about the leisure facilities in
the Dingle; this is a summation of this research.
I felt that I needed to use one such facility as an example of the best
that the Dingle had to offer. The Park Road Centre for Sport seemed an
ideal opportunity to do this. Mrs. Mary Hill, the receptionist, helped
me considerably when I asked her about the range of activities at the
centre.
FINDINGS
Sport in the Dingle is quite well catered for with two council-run
sports centres not to far for each other (the Toxteth Sports Centre and
the Park Road Centre for Sport, which will be focused on later). There
are also numerous places where it is possible top play "footie," a local
variation of the well regarded pastime of soccer, but without as many
rules. One of these places is adjacent the Toxteth Sports Centre and is
frequently uses by local amateur teams, as it was built by the City
council for local use. But it's not only the organized groups who can
use it; anyone can at any time, but it is mostly uses by children,
young(ish) adults, and people (usually male) in their 20s to 30s. The
local police have even set up a sports club association, with the aim to
bring sport, the police, and the community together.
Not everyone is fond of physical exertion, and for these people there are
twenty nine pubs to choose from, catering for everyone over eighteen. The
older females of the community seem to make a beeline for the eight
privately owned clubs (four of these offer bingo halls), while most of the
men just want to be left alone for a couple of hours in the area's six
betting offices.
Those people who wish to broaden their minds have a choice of two council-
run adult education centres, or there is the Toxteth Library, with easy
access for the disabled, and even easier access for the able-bodied.
Failing that, they can just select a stimulating video from one of the
area's four commercial video hire shops (although access for the wheelchair
bound, as with pubs, is less than perfect).
The Dingle's children are able to participate in various activities in
youth associations (church, charity, and council run), ranging from table
tennis to indoor five-a-side football, and the vary young can be supervised
in numerous day centres and playgroups, helping young parents find time to
do other things, such as working or studying.
I would now like to give an example of one of the best leisure facilities
the Dingle can provide: the Park Road Centre for Sport. The Park Road
Centre for Sport is an average size, local council run, leisure centre
providing for the local community. It is built around an eighty-four year
old wash house and swimming pool, with a sports hall added in 1984 (which
has just recently been enlarged) and it is in the process of fitting ramps
for the disabled. Its size, however, conceals the fact that there is only a
limited amount of sports facilities to offer for able-bodied people, and
even less for the not. See the article Park Road Sports Centre for more
information.
The sports that are strongly catered for at the centre are swimming and
gymnastics. The enlarged sports hall is dedicated to gymnastics, and the
training provided by the centre is of a world class nature; indeed, many of
the junior English champions have attended and trained there. This may or
may not be a good thing for the Dingle.
CONCLUSIONS
In general, there are quite a lot of "pubs" and clubs, which cater to
customers of any gender from eighteen and over, and you receive what you
want (for an exuberant price) but access for the disabled is poor and
children are either not allowed in or are bored rigid. There is also the
fact that alcohol is a large causing factor in many violent acts, which
are detrimental to the neighbourhood.
The three bingo clubs (populated by 45+ year olds) are well used. Although
bingo is a form of gambling, the stakes are low (but so are the prizes),
and the people who play the game use it as an excuse to meet friends, talk,
etc. The value for money for the game is low, but for the socializing it
is not too bad.
There is a reasonable, busy library which caters to all the community,
young, old, male and female. No question of value for money here as the
lending of a book costs nothing.
Sports facilities and opportunities are abundant, which is good for the
physically active (male and female between 2 and 70 years old, usually
able-bodied) but not much use for those people who can not or do no want
to take up sports such as aquaerobics, football, etc.
The profusion of bookmakers is a sad sign of the times, being frequented
by the bored, the unemployed (this includes the 16-18 year olds), and
basically anyone who hopes to win a large amount of money. These places
give an extremely low amount of value for money, and unlike bingo games,
people do not socialize in these establishments. Also they offer no
entertainment value for the young or the disabled.
There is hope, however, as there are two adult education centres, for
those that wish to get out of the unemployment rut, or any one else who
wants to learn something new (except people under 16, who are still in
compulsory education). For the unemployed courses are free, and for the
working the course fees are very reasonable, giving a fair amount of
value for money.
The youth clubs in the Dingle are well used and appreciated buy the
children and young adults of the area, with a small entrance fee. Apart
from these clubs there is not many facilities on offer for the young,
apart from the aforementioned sports centres (and even) bookmakers. This
may point to the reason for the emigration from the Dingle to other parts
of the city by young people.
In my opinion, the Dingle is quite poorly provided for in the leisure
sector, with only a limited rang of facilities on offer to the various
social groups being targeted, the young and the disabled of the community
are the people being the least targeted.
The following is a leisure index of the Dingle area of Liverpool:
ADULT EDUCATION CENTRES
City of Liverpool Community College, Windsor Street Site,
Windsor Street
Shorefields Community School and Adult Education Centre,
Dingle Vale
BOOKMAKERS
Dick Brown Racing, 122 Mill Street
Mersey Racing, 478 Mill Street
Oakfield Racing, 442 Mill Street
Reliant Racing, 60 Park Road
Stanley Racing, 115 Windsor Street
William Hills, 204 Park Road
CLUBS AND BINGO HALLS
Beresford Social Club, 125 Parkhill Road
East & West Toxteth Social Club, Park Road
Mount Carmel Social Club, 33 High Park Street
St Malachy's Social Club, Beauford Street
St Patrick's Memorial Hall, Park Place
Top Rank Ltd., Park Road
United Services Club, Hawkstone Street
LIBRARIES
Toxteth Library, Windsor Street
PLAYGOUPS AND DAY CENTRES
The Elms Day Nursery, 1 The Elms
Shiela Kay Day Centre, High Park Street
PUBLIC HOUSES AND BARS
The Alexandra, 135 Upper Hill Street
The Angelsea, 94 Beresford Road
Angel Vaults, 29 Stanhope Street
The Bankhouse, 144 Windsor Street
Bleakhouse, 131 Parkhill Road
Clancey's, 102 Mill Street
The Crown, 120 Park Road
The Derby Arms, 365 Mill Street
The Dingle, 268 Park Road
The Empress, 93 High Park Street
The Farmer Arms, 64 Park Road
The Globe, 44 Park Road
The Grapes, Windsor Street
The Great Eastern, 102 Mill Street
The High Park, 187 Park Road
The Jolly, Hawkstone Street
Peter Kavanagh's, 2-6 Egerton Street
The Pheonix, 125 Cockburn Street
The Pineapple Hotel, 258 Park Road
Poet's Corner, 27 Parkhill Road
The Prince, 2 Bessemer Street
The Queen's Arms, 100 Admiral Street
The Queen's Head Hotel, North Hill Street
The Royal Oak, 1 Upper Warwick Street
The Showboat, 6 Mill Street
The South Hill, 2 Menzies Street
The Star, 22 Warwick Street
The Toxteth, 141 Park Street
The Volunteer, Park Place
The Wellington, Mill Street
The Windsor Castle, Windsor Street
SPORTS CENTRES AND ASSOCIATIONS
Merseyside Police Sports & Social Club,
F Division Admiral Street Station
Park Road Centre for Sport, Steble Street
Toxteth Sports Centre, Upper Hill Street
VIDEO HIRE SHOPS
A.H.F Video, 236 Park Road
Videoland, 168 North Hill Street
Warwick Video World, 43 Warwick Street
Windsor Video, 121 Winsor Street
YOUTH CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Belvidere Youth & Community Centre, Miles Street
David Lewis Association, Upper Stanhope Street
Toxteth Tabernacle, Baptist Church Park Road